Renters - what would you do if your landlord is selling up but there's nowhere you can afford to move to?

[Yankydoodledandy]

So my friend has rang me in tears. She lives with her DS who is on an apprentership. She rents and is on PIP and benefits due to ill health.

Her landlord is selling up and she has to move in 6 weeks. All the council houses she can bid for she says are in really bad areas and private rent is crazy.

I just dont know how to advise her.

Anyone got any advice I can forward on please?

I'm in this situation too, but have more time. It's very stressful.

@TreesoftheField

Why punish the landlord?? Oh yes, make yourself homeless and sleep rough before you cause your landlord any hassle!!! Landlords know the law and the risk they're taking when renting a property. The tenants are under no obligation to leave and be homeless just so the landlord doesn't have to feel stressed. And it is correct that the council will tell tenants to stay put until a court order is in place because they're totally overwhelmed with people being made homeless and have to buy themselves some time. It's ridiculous to insist someone not making themselves homeless is punishing the landlord!!!

So why would anyone bother to be a landlord? To be honest, the extra income we get from the tenant above our business premises is nice but not essential. Should we just take our large, well maintained flat out of the housing pool to avoid the chance of bad tenants? You seem to think landlords should just suck it up. Not how it works, and it's renters who will suffer if fewer people are willing to be landlords.

UPDATE
Saw my friend last night and she's been in the property for 6 years and renews her contract each year.

All she has had is a text from her landlord to say he is not renewing the contract as probably selling up. That's it heard nothing more - is this legal notice all he has to do?

Her current contract ends at the end of May

He needs to send her paperwork, not a tx, a section 21, which will have 8 weeks notice.
At that point she can go back to the council and be put in the band for someone facing homelessness and vulnerable due to disabilities.
If she still hasn’t got anywhere to move to on the date of her eviction on the s21 the landlord will start court proceedings if she doesn’t leave willingly.
If she leaves without a court order and nowhere to go, the council will probably say she has made her self homeless and not help her.

I would advise your friend to bid on the best that is available from the council, if and when her ds leaves the council will help her downsize as she will be over occupying.

Not legal notice. He may well be happy for her to go onto a rolling contract until he's ready to serve notice. He may well be selling with a sitting tenant. However, she might want to message him to confirm what his timings are, does he intend to serve notice etc. Then she might just have to accept a council property in a less desirable area.

@Yankydoodledandy

UPDATE Saw my friend last night and she's been in the property for 6 years and renews her contract each year.

All she has had is a text from her landlord to say he is not renewing the contract as probably selling up. That's it heard nothing more - is this legal notice all he has to do?

No he has to issue legal paperwork and follow a process.

She goes onto a rolling tenancy once the fixed period is up unless he does something to change that.

Ending a tenancy takes several legal steps.

She certainly doesn’t have to leave in May with nowhere to go.

She needs proper advice.

If he doesn’t do the proper paperwork- and a text saying he’s “not renewing the contract” means feck all - then she can stay as long as she needs to until he does the paperwork. And even then she can stay till the notice expires.

Even if he “doesn’t renew the contract” she’ll be on a rolling monthly tenancy so she just needs to keep paying rent.